Digital Crave

From the Jedi Archives: Movie connections in Angry Birds Star Wars

The latest iteration of the Angry Birds game franchise — Angry Birds Star Wars (ABSW) — has remained at the top of the app charts since its release in November. (ABSW is available on iOS and Android devices, plus Windows and Mac.) The game combines standard features from the original title with the zero-G and orbital physics of Angry Birds Space.

Of course, the game also incorporates characters and story lines from the classic Star Wars films. It's always fun when giant pop culture institutions and cross-marketing opportunities collide. ABSW's many allusions, references and in-jokes bespeak an admirable knowledge of Star Wars lore on the part of the game designers.

In the interest of furthering Star Wars literacy among all peoples of the world — a noble endeavor, surely — we've listed below ABSW's playable birds and their powers, along with bonus reference information and trivia from the films. Only through the sharing of such excruciating minutia can balance be restored to the Force.

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Angry Birds Star Wars

C-3PO (White Bird)
Power: Self-destructs into five parts.
Reference: Scene in The Empire Strikes Back in which C-3PO is blasted into parts by stormtroopers.

Double Secret Movie Trivia: Director George Lucas originally planned for Threepio to be a "used-car salesman type."

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